Reba sat beside the bed and took her niece's hand, "Kelcey, honey, open your eyes."
Her eyes slowly opened and she tried to let out a long breath, but the tube in her throat caused her to start coughing. Brock went to the hallway and called the nurse.
"She's awake, she can't breathe." Reba said looking from Kelcey to the nurse.
"Alright, calm down honey. When I count to three you need to cough for me ok?" The nurse said as she pulled on her gloves and placed her hand on the tube at Kelcey's mouth. "Ok, 1 2 3, cough for me."
Kelcey let out three coughs as the nurse pulled the tube from her throat. After a moment the coughing stopped. The nurse checked her vitals. "She seems to be doing fine. Good to see you awake." She smiled and looked back at Reba who was watching from the back of the room. "She's alright right now, her throat will be sore but she can talk. Let me go call the doctor and I'll be back a little bit later to check on you."
The nurse walked between Brock and Reba and headed for the door. Reba walked over to Kelcey and took her hand, "Honey, how ya feelin?" She asked, gently placing her hand on Kelcey's stomach.
As she began to answer Kelcey realized nothing came out. She looked up, smiled, and pointed across the room to a cup of water. Brock grabbed the water and placed the straw to her mouth.
After a couple of swallows she replied in a scratchy voice, "Aunt Reba, you look tired."
Reba smiled big, "I guess you're feelin' alright then."
Kelcey started to push herself up in the bed in an attempt to sit upright but a sharp pain halted her efforts. She grabbed at her stomach and squeezed her eyes shut. "My God..! What's wrong with me?"
"Do you not remember?" Reba asked, placing her hand gently on Kelcey's shoulder to hold her in place.
Kelcey relaxed back in the bed, "The last thing I remember was coming back into the kitchen and calling you." She pushed her eyebrows together in confusion. "When you came I saw you run to me but – I...I don't know why." She looked up to Reba for the answer.
Reba glanced over to Brock and then back to Kelcey. "Uh, it was Jack honey." She sat on the bed. "He hurt you. He was at the house and he stabbed you...that's why you called to me. You've been in the hospital for almost three days."
Kelcey looked up at the ceiling and cocked her jaw to one side. "Well I guess that explains why you're lookin' so tired. I assume you've been here the whole time. You didn't have to stay here." She chuckled.
"That's what I told her." Brock interrupted looking directly at Reba with a sarcastic expression.
Reba rolled her eyes, "Anyway, I have some good news."
"Really? What?" Kelcey questioned.
Reba smiled down at her, "The police caught Jack; he's been arrested."
A smile spread across Kelcey's tired face, "Was he in Houston, with his brother?" She asked.
"Yes, I got the call earlier today. It was the social worker you came down here with. She told me that when his trial is set you'll have to testify about the drugs back in Lubbock. He's already in trouble for this." She pointed at Kelcey's stomach.
"Wow, I can't believe it. I'm happy, but it's just such a relief to know he can't hurt anyone again. Oh God, Kyra..." Kelcey suddenly remembered the face of her cousin standing over her. "She saw me didn't she? Yeah, we were gonna watch that movie – she was there. Is she alright?" Kelcey questioned, looking back and forth from her aunt to her uncle.
"She's fine. She's with Barbara Jean, Jake, and Henry now. She helped a lot the night we brought you here. She's been by to see you, but she went home to take care of Jake." Reba answered.
She breathed a sigh of relief, "Well that's good to hear. I'm so sorry I worried everyone."
Just as Reba and Brock were about to speak the door opened; it was the doctor. "Well hello, good to see you with your eyes open for a change." She smiled. "The nurse told me you were looking pretty good, let me just check out your vitals and your bandage and we'll see what we can do about getting you up, how's that sound?"
"Painful..." Kelcey replied, watching the doctor poke buttons on a machine attached to her arm from the IV.
The doctor laughed and looked over to her, "Well let's check this bandage and see how the healing is doing...then we'll talk about walking."
She lifted Kelcey's shirt to expose a large white bandage taped over the right side of her stomach. Brock and Reba both walked to the other side of the bed, closest to the window and watched. The doctor pulled on her gloves and pulled the bandage back uncovering a large red incision in Kelcey's skin. Black stitches held the wound together. The doctor replaced the bandage.
"Well, I hate to tell you, but you can walk. And you're going to need to get up soon – get those legs movin' again. The wound is healing perfectly. Do you want my help to get up, or do you want to wait a little bit and let these two help ya?" She asked turning to point at Brock and Reba who were huddled together in a corner of the room trying to stay out of the way.
"I think I'll let them help me, thanks though." Kelcey said looking over at her aunt and uncle and raising her eyebrow at their awkward standing position.
"Ok, well be careful when you do get up and do it slowly. If you need anything the nurses are right outside. You'll probably have to stay another 24 hours, but you may be able to go home tomorrow." The doctor gathered her papers from the bedside table smiled, and left.
Reba walked over to the other side of the bed, "Well, do you wanna try and get up now?" She questioned.
Kelcey closed her eyes and sighed, "I guess I have to, don't I?"
Brock came to the other side of the bed and unlocked the rail, "Here – I'll stand on this side and lift you and you grab hold of Reba's shoulder when you get up. I won't let you fall."
"Geeze...I feel so helpless. This sucks." Kelcey said sorely.
As the rail was let down Brock reached under Kelcey's arm and braced her left side as she pulled her way up to a sitting position.
Once in a sitting position with her legs dangling over the side, "Wait wait wait, hold on. Lemme catch my breath."
A few seconds later she reached for Reba's shoulder and pulled herself off the bed; staggering slightly, she gripped her aunt and uncle and stood up-right.
"Wow, this feels weird." She said letting go of Reba and clutching her stomach. "Not walking for three days will definitely make your legs a little weak."
"Walk over to this chair and sit a while." Reba said, pulling the chair from the wall and standing behind it.
Kelcey clutched on to the side of the bed and slowly made her way to the chair. When she turned and sat she let out a huge sigh. "I think I just ran a marathon."
